Race and Justice: The Wire

This course will examine the wide ranging legal procedures utilized in the highly acclaimed HBO series "The Wire". The readings will focus on police procedure, criminal codes, crime policy, criminal investigation, drug interdiction, and sentencing alternatives among other topics. Students will get a firsthand view of the manner in which law enforcement officials exercise broad discretion in the course of criminal investigations, and how legislative responses and the problems of crime often lead to dramatic and overreaching public policy.Students will be required to write three short reflection papers during the course and submit a 20 to 25 page paper at the end of the course.